Editing Lake of Tears (section)

=== Mid-career success: A Crimson Cosmos ===
1997 brought the release of the band's most popular studio effort until then, ''[[A Crimson Cosmos]]''.  If ''[[Headstones (album)|Headstones]]'' had been a revision of their earlier sound, ''A Crimson Cosmos'' was a complete rebirth, being a hypnotically melodic album.  The release's closing track, "A Crimson Cosmos", reflected a marked influence by [[Progressive rock|progressive]]/[[psychedelic rock|psychedelic]] luminaries [[Pink Floyd]], while other tracks, such as Lady Rosenred and Raistlin and the Rose reflected popular fantasy themes.  Rhythm guitarist Jonas Eriksson had left the band before the release, being replaced by guitarist Ulrik Lindblom. After recording ''A Crimson Cosmos'' and touring with Lake of Tears until 1999, he also left the band and had to be substituted by [[Magnus Sahlgren]], who played as lead guitarist, but only as a guest artist. Although he played on ''[[Forever Autumn (album)|Forever Autumn]]'' and every subsequent Lake of Tears album, often composing the majority of lead guitar riffs, Sahlgren was only formally accepted as a band member following the release of 2004's ''[[Black Brick Road]]''.

Lake of Tears' 1999 album, ''[[Forever Autumn (album)|Forever Autumn]]'', did not follow the trend settled by ''Headstones'' and ''A Crimson Cosmos'', resulting an intensely quiet and introspective album.{{citation needed|date=October 2020}}  Keyboardist Christian Saarinen was briefly included as an official band member, adding an extra layer to the band's sound. Fantasy imagery was rife and the album's overall effect was sedate and sorrowful.